Coronavirus: White House rejects bipartisan bills to bring US medical supply chain back home

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rejected the idea of using legislation to compel US medical supply companies to bring their manufacturing operations back home so Americans are less reliant on foreign countries for medical equipment during the coronavirus pandemic and future health crises. Lawmakers from both parties have offered multiple bills in recent weeks that would codify incentives for companies to bring some of their manufacturing of medical supplies back to US soil. Mr Mnuchin indicated the Trump administration is uniquely positioned to coax medical companies to bring some of their production operations back to the US because protecting and bringing back outsourced US manufacturing jobs has been a centerpiece of Mr Trump's economic message since he began his political career in 2015. Mnuchin's position — that the federal government doesn't require legislation to compel the production of medical supplies in the US — puts him at odds with lawmakers from both parties who have offered various mechanisms to facilitate the manufacturing in the US of masks, medications, ventilators, and other resources that are in short supply.